Early American Monograms/Cyphers

[Pepperonicini]

Hi all,

I have a question about early American monograms (pre ~1800). I have heard that middle names were rare, but I feel like I often see three letters in the monograms in this early style of monogram.

In what order are the letters in regards to a name? Is it possible the top letter is not part of a name, but something else?

I found this important spoon which I am lucky enough to have also found the logs of the silversmith who made it. I am assuming the first and last name are D and L. I searched through all of the books and only found a few entries for someone with DL initials. Only one of them had an order for a spoon and even more specifically it was a table spoon with a 'sypher', which is what I have here.

But I can find no records that support anything with a C in his name. His mothers maiden name began with a C but that is it. I thought it could be a military rank but he was listed as a sergeant in the revolutionary war.

If anyone could provide some general guidance about these old monograms that would be great.

Thank you!

[dognose]

Hi,

Presuming that the the traditions of Georgian engraving are the same as would have been used in the UK at the time, then this is typical of engraving that was used at the time of a marriage. The 'C' indicates the surname. the 'D' the husband's Christian name, and the 'L' the wife's Christian name.

Trev.

[wev]

That would be the normal convention in to the early 19th century -- surname over husband/wife
Who is the maker?

[Traintime]

Curiosity…might it ever be a rank or status abbreviation like Captain, Commodore, or Cat Catcher etcetera, etcetera, etcetera?

[Aguest]

:::: Six stripes of descending length is a bit unusual for a marriage monogram, I recall seeing a plus sign and that area left blank, but does this seem a bit unusual for a marriage monogram? :::: (I see a couple of revolutionary war flags with six-stripes, but that could be a coincidence). ::::::

[wev]

I have seen many different separators on spoons of this era -- sprigs, leaves, curlicues, dots, diamonds, stars, etc. Some may have been specific (matching and existing pieces), family meaningful, or simply the whim of the engraver.

And if I may ask the OP again -- who is the maker? That would certainly have a bearing.

[Aguest]

:::: Yes I am intrigued as well & how did you find a ledger of the silversmith's sales? ::::::: In which book was this silversmith's ledger published? :

[Pepperonicini]

Sorry for the late reply and thank you for all the help.

Elias Pelletreau

[wev]

Thank you. It might do well to post a picture of the spoon, front and back, to gauge its period.
In the mean time, you might query his account books for any pieces ordered by the Conkling families various. They were well-to-do, lived at hand, and David was a common given name amongst them. Elias sr. married Sarah Conkling as his second wife in 1786.

[wev]

To correct the above -- CONKLING.

[Pepperonicini]

Sadly I looked through all of his books and there were only a few men with "DC" as their first and last name initials. None of them were orders for spoons. A couple of his books are lost to history, apparently. But three are available here:

https://www.digitallongisland.org if you search 'pelletreau'' you get 3 of the account books pop up. Two of them have been indexed (one indexed by Elias at the front, the other by his grandson at the end). The third one I looked page by page could not find any DC's.

Here is the back of the spoon:

[wev]

The spoon was made decades before his extent account books. It is a desirable example, but the hope of tracing the initials is thin.